Trials and tribulations with Nightmare

Continuing the Nightmare tale...

If you remember, I mentioned that the dog had a pretty bad infection on her forehead, which had oozed out and caked the fur around the wound.

My first order of business the next day after taking her in was to try to clean the wound as well as I could. The only disinfectant I had around was medicinal alcohol, but that one really stings. So I went with "grandma's recipe", camomile tea.

It took me about half an hour to clean the fur and then the wound and, even if the tea is very mild and wouldn't hurt her, my patting and rubbing surely caused her quite a bit of discomfort. Surprisingly though, she made no move to stop me or draw away, she just lay there with her eyes closed, in complete resignation.

Feeling down in the dumps, poor girl...

She was actually quite lethargic the first couple of days, sleeping a lot, eating only a little and generally unwilling to walk around much. She was also picky about the food and didn't want the kibble or treats Aschiuta had at the time. I eventually bought her a can of dog food and she seemed to like that. She also liked mozzarella. I later on bought a brand of kibble (Bosch) that we used to feed Aschiuta when we were on a budget at the vet's recommendation and which we have kept giving her from time to time. The big black dog seemed to like the kibble, so it is again a staple in the dogs' diet.

But I digress... After cleaning her wound, I continued to do it from time to time, since it was still suppurating. I decided I would have to finish work early and try to take her to the vet. This way we would get her wound checked and also verify if she had a microchip.

Our vet is not very close by and usually with Aschiuta it takes me about 30 minutes on foot. I gathered my usual supplies of bags and tissues, put the leash on the dog and we were on our merry way to the vet.

Unfortunately, we didn't get too far. We had just reached the public street (yes, there are private streets in my town...) in front of our building and made a few steps, when the dog decided she was not going to take another step. In neither direction. She planted herself on the ground, just like when climbing stairs, and would not budge. After a few good minutes of trying to coax her to go further, I had to spend almost as much time convincing her to go back. We were going home, no more scary long walks.

We would need to switch to plan B then... taking our car. Luckily, we have our own car, complete with safety accessories for doggies. But more about that next time...

Lost pet commercial break

Stay tuned for more tales of Nightmare! We will be right back after these messages...

Did your dog run away from home or got lost while roaming off leash? We all know these kinds of stories and it is very likely that if you are a dog owner, this has happened to you once or twice.

What can you do to make sure Fido does not take off on its own?

First of all, prevention. Yes, it is better to prevent than to solve a problem. Here is the recipe for success with a safe doggo:

• Ask your vet to microchip your pet or to register you on the pet's chip if you are not the first (responsible) owner. The microchip helps rescuers identify and contact the owner of the pet, if the pet is lost. It is a small implant and is very easy to insert, with little pain to the animal. Some countries require it by law and it is also the sensible thing to do. Tags on collars also work, but if your pet slips out of the collar, it will not be of too much use...
• The leash is dog's best friend! The majority of lost pets are those walked without a leash. There are far too many dangers and temptations in today's modern world, from traffic to other animals. Unless you are in a safe enclosure, using a leash is highly recommended.
  
  

  

  Extensible leashes... for that extra bit of freedom, without cutting on the safety.

• Sometimes, even the leash is not enough, as we have reports of some dogs slipping out of their collars or harnesses in fear or excitement. Avoid going out for walks during loud events such as fireworks shows or lightning storms. Use a harness rather than a collar and make sure it is not loose. And always, be mindful of your surroundings.
• Don't ignore your pet during walks. Do not tie up your dog in front of a shop while you go in and don't lose touch with reality (while chatting with someone or using your phone). It is very easy for the pet to get in trouble or even get stolen.

If prevention didn't work, act quickly and efficiently. Search for your pet yourself (mobilise a  small army of friends and family too if necessary). If the pet is out of sight, make use of those networking connections. Ask for help with the search on your social media and post ads on lost pet sites (rewards are always a good incentive). The classic poster is always useful, but takes time to produce and "publish" in the neighbourhood. Always check the "found" sections of the lost pet sites and don't lose hope. If your pet is found by nice people and taken to a vet, the microchip (or collar tag) is your best bet of getting your furry friend back!

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Paranormal experience

They say dogs have a 6th sense, that they can feel an earthquake coming or even sense ghosts. Could it be true? You decide for yourselves.

One day, Aschiuta was going about the house after me, when the front door caught her attention.

She sniffed, intrigued, and started cowering away towards the door. Something obviously troubled her, making her uneasy, almost scared.

I went to the door and listened. Nothing.

I looked through the viewer and couldn't see anything or anyone outside.

What was making her so nervous?

I kept my cool and decided to just go ahead and take her for a walk. She usually can't wait to go, but this time she was reluctant.

We were finally ready to go and I opened the door and saw what had made Poochie put her tail between her legs.

It was no scary ghost or boogieman. It was a tabby cat rolled up napping on our front door rug!

She was not scared at all, but let Aschiuta sniff her and even started purring.

Now they are good friends and seek each other for a sniff and some friendly sparring. No teeth or claws.

The moral of the story? Not all ghosts are all that scary.

An encounter of the "kitty" degree

On a much too tight leash

Perhaps you will remember that Aschiuta received a brand new extensible leash around last New Year.

The handle was green and it said Benny on it (which was rather curious) and it seemed really nice at first: very silent and could be retracted all the way in. The old one's cord had (finally) broken, after faithfully serving us for over three years.

I'm sad to say the new green leash has met its early end today. After breaking down little by little (Aschiuta tugs and pulls like no other), today the blocker button failed at the worst possible time.

I was out with Aschiuta when a Chow Chow (or an equally jolly orange teddy bear) sneaked up on us from behind. Aschiuta bolted after him and, knowing she has been a bit vicious with other dogs lately, I tried to restrain her and bring her back closer. How is this done? Usually, it is block-pull-unblock-wind-block and repeat until Aschiuta is close enough to be appeased.
 

Unfortunately, when I tried to pull, I hadn't realised that the block hadn't worked, so I carelessly grabbed the leash with my free hand. Bad idea, very bad. The leash slipped on my hand with the speed of a mad Aschiuta sprinting (and trust me, the only dog faster than her has been a greyhound) and I couldn't let go of it fast enough. First degree burns, ouchies!
 

I finally got to my senses and wrapped the leash around my arm (it wasn't retracting anymore either) and apologised to the owner of the dog and we went back home with the tails between our legs. The new leash was kaput! Scorpio tried to fix it, but the mechanism had broken inside, so there was no saving it.
 

We will have a brief moment of silence... and now to celebrate a new acquisition: the old leash! ^^ (Wait, what?!)

Oh, sorry, not the old leash, but an identical brand-new one. I must say I am very happy and Aschiuta too gave it an approving sniff (or was she just happy to go out after drinking too much water?). If the first leash of this kind lasted over three years, I hope this one outlives it.
 

The old, the fancy and the new

  

Plus, it's red and pink, poochie's colours. Well, you know. Her first harness was pink, her first leash, the short one, was red (monogrammed, thanks to Scorpio's stitching skills), then she got the first red and pink extensible leash, then a red studded leather collar. Let's not forget her first vest was made from one of my old red sweatshirts, her winter coat is red... even her first undies were red (very sexy, hehe).

So, here we are! Out with the old, in with the new. Now we will go christen the leash by watering the flowers.

Happy belated holidays!

We want to wish you a happy belated new year and a lot of accomplishments!

We have been busy these past few days, coming to visit with my mother-in-law (wow, such a long name) and our godparents at the mountains. We were lucky to have had some snow for Christmas and it's still snowing now. Aschiuta couldn't be happier.

We got here by train, of course, with a doggie ticket for pooch and regular priced ones for us. It was nice and spacey for once and we had time to take some interesting photos.

"Woohoo, first class! I'm taking the window seat and the aisle seat!"

Poochie already bored on the train and lying down on the floor.

Christmas was fun, we shared some champagne (yes, from Champagne in France) with the family and stuffed ourselves with traditional dishes. Of course Aschiuta had her share, as always.

I had to go back and forth for the New Year week, since I was working every day. I left on the 31st in the evening to join everyone at the mountains, then went back home the next day. I have to say, work was tedious, but luckily, I have another week off and so I'm back here with everyone for some more relaxation.

Poochie has been quite nice, without making a lot of confetti, but she did swallow some pieces of gum. Good thing she got rid of it.

She has been extremely excited about being here and for the snow as well. When we go out with her, she sometimes makes very quick dashes from one side of the other, as far as the leash allows her. All I can do is hold on for dear life, there's no way I could possibly match her speed. She even broke her extensible leash doing this and my husband had to go buy another one. It seems better quality, but too bad it's not red, as that is poochie's wardrobe colour.

Aschiuta taking a break from running.

And speaking of wardrobe, I made some adjustments to her winter coat. I replaced the leg elastic, so it wouldn't wobble left and right on her back and added a little embellishment, made by me. I think it looks fetching on her, don't you?

A much better fit and a snowflake. See my other needle works here, if interested.

Walking, sniffing, tugging, jumping - all in one

I'll admit, I'm a lazy ass and don't take Aschiuta out as much as I should. But when I do, there's no stopping her.

 

Woo, what's that?

Living in a dirty neighbourhood and very close to the market doesn't make for very nice places to walk in. Plus, there are a lot of people and cars all around.

I'm not a very sociable person, but when you walk your dog, it's inevitable to meet other people and dogs. Here are a few approaches to meeting Aschiuta...

Other dogs

If the dogs are strays, things are quite simple. They are either protecting their territory (and we have to keep our cool and show them we're not afraid of them), or they want to know and play with Aschiuta. There is a lot of sniffing, a bit of shyness. Then we will see some dancing and jumping and there's no splitting the new playmates apart.

Some dogs walking with their owners can be a bit different though. Of course, there are the friendly dog&owner pair, when we usually exchange the "is your dog a boy or a girl?" "oh, she's so friendly!" small talk. Sometimes, the dogs are a bit grouchy and bark (I noticed Pekingese are like that... and there are a lot of Pekingese where I live), so we just go on our way. The weirdest meetings are when the owners don't want their dog meeting other dogs. The usual inexplicable paranoia (like all paranoia cases, actually).

Other people

Maybe they smell in a certain way. Maybe they also have dogs at home. Maybe they bought something yummy from the market. Maybe they're children. Whatever the reason, Aschiuta selects some people to desperately try to meet. This often implies tugging on the leash towards them or trying to jump on them happily. This behaviour is also triggered by "dog calls" (you know, whistling after a cute doggie passing by? or maybe at their cute owner) or kissie sounds or just waving hands in front of Aschiuta.

The dog-squeamish people will just hurry along the way or give a startled "oh!". But the people who want to attract Aschiuta's attention sometimes don't know what they're getting into... Aschiuta shows affection in a very jumpy, clingy way. And, like I mentioned before, our streets are often dirty and muddy. We always warn them that the dog will get them dirty, but sometimes...

One very funny incident happened when we were getting back from Brasov. Aschiuta was wearing her cute winter coat, but she was very muddy from the train floors and from walking most of the way from the train station. Right in front of our building, a nice young lady came and she was all "oh, such a cute doggie!" and kept patting her head. We told her "please be careful, her paws are muddy, she will get you dirty". Her only response was "aw, bad doggie, you sweetie! getting people dirty like that!" and just kept playing with her. She was wearing a cream-coloured jacket. The kind that doesn't wash easily. Only when she turned to leave, did she realise what had happened. One more inexplicable thing for you, my dear readers...

Have fun walking and remember... Doggies are cute, but they also leave a lot of pawprints...